The ECHL feeds the American Hockey League which, in turn,
feeds the National Hockey League. Among professional hockey leagues, the ECHL
has something unique that none other has. In the League’s history, it has not
one but two members of the 80/200 club.
Scoring 80 goals is a feat that has rarely been done at any
level of professional hockey. The AHL has never had an 80 goal scorer. In fact,
the AHL record for goals in a season is just 70 in 1988-89 by Stephan LeBeau.
The NHL has three players in the history of the league to
attain the 80 goal plateau. Wayne Gretzky did it twice with 92 in 1981-82 and
87 in 1983-84. Brett Hull had 86 goals in 1990-91 and Mario Lemieux had 85 in
1988-89. It should be noted that Lemieux stands on an unreachable plateau after
his 133 goal season in junior hockey playing for the Laval Voisins during the
QMJHL 1983-84 season.
What makes Trevor Jobe and Bill McDougall unique is that
they attained the 80 goal plateau while sitting more than 200 minutes in the penalty
box.
Trevor Jobe
Jobe scored 85 goals, a league record, while sitting out 222
minutes in penalties in just 61 games during the 1992-93 season with the
Nashville Knights. He added 76 assists that season for a total of 161 points,
also an ECHL single season record. Trevor added 7 goals in the playoffs for a
grand total of 92.
Trevor Jobe, who was a draft pick of the Toronto Maple
Leafs, had a few good seasons afterwards but never regained the Midas touch of
that magic season. He continued to play professionally until the end of the
2004-05 seasons and never played at a higher level than a handful of games in
the AHL.
In the Central Hockey League in 1996-97, Jobe had a swan
song season of sorts. He played 57 games in Wichita, Kansas with the Thunder and four with
the Columbus Cottonmouths. He combined for 61 goals and 73 assists for 134
points. He led the CHL in goals and points and placed second in assists behind
Doug Lawrence of the Tulsa Oilers who set up 100 goals over 66 games.
Bill McDougall
Bill McDougall scored 80 goals exactly in just 57 games
during the 1989-90 season with the Erie Panthers. He sat out 226 minutes while
adding 68 assists for a 148 point season. This was McDougall’s first season in
professional hockey and his only season in the ECHL. He also spent 11 games
that season with the AHL’s Adirondack Red Wings, adding another 10 goals. Add
in the 6 goals he attained between the two teams in the playoffs and that made
for a 96 goal season.
Bill McDougall was never drafted but did manage to play 28
games in the NHL scattered over three seasons, one each with the Detroit Red
Wings, Edmonton Oilers and Tampa Bay Lightning. Not quite returning to the 80
goal plateau, McDougall had a quite successful hockey career in the North
American minor leagues as well as the European elite leagues.
In 1992-93, McDougall was an integral part of the Cape
Breton Oilers winning the Calder Cup as playoff champions in the American
Hockey League. His 42 goals and 88 points were second best on the team during
the regular season and his goal total was good enough to tie him for sixth in
the league. However, Bill exploded in the playoffs for an amazing 26 goals and
26 assists for 52 points over just 16 games. The George Burnett coached Oilers
downed the Rochester Americans in the finals, 4-1.
In 1993-94, his last year of pro hockey in North America,
McDougall won another championship. This time, Bill was with the Atlanta
Knights of the IHL. Not a team offensive leader but still a major contributor,
Bill gave back more than a point per game. Atlanta won the final series in six
games over the Fort Wayne Komets.
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